Nursing Voices

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Stylish Privation

Here’s a book that my husband picked up a long time ago. Ernest Callenbach wrote the book, and it published in 1972. I think Callenbach was a hippy. This is the book’s introduction:

Poor Is “In”

“Millions of Americans have discovered how to be free. And to be that, they are willing to be poor: to drop out of the corporations and universities and official culture and instead try building up a life-style that will suit them. This can mean scrounging, scavenging, welfare, do-it-yourself, subsistence farming, communes, odd jobs, and part-time jobs. It’s not an easy life. But it can be a real and personal satisfying life—fit for man to live. This book has been written to try and bring together information that can be useful in living this new life.”



I’m glad that I have Callenbach's book. It is going to come in handy after my yearly employee evaluation. This is going to be interesting. Mr. Gringe isn’t happy that I keep pointing out issues regarding patient care that the hospital chooses to overlook. I refuse to wear rose-colored glasses to work. On a brighter note, Mr. Gringe has also announced that the nurses working a Hospital X are getting a “substantial” pay raise this year. That’s the good news. The bad news is that he is playing down the fact that our big, fat, raise won’t cover the increase in premiums that we pay for our health insurance, nor will it cover the increase in copays associated with our new policy. My coworkers will need a pair of rose-colored glasses when they start reading the fine print on their insurance policy.




If poor is in, then I'm living the highlife. Like the majority of Americans, my family and I are struggling to make ends meet.

10 Comments:

Blogger Alexis said...

yeah. sigh. This morning on NPR, I learned that my good ol' flyover state is expected double-digit increases in health insurance premiums this year. I doubt it'll impact my student rates, but I can't wait to see what it does to my patients. oy.

4:13 PM  
Blogger The Curmudgeon said...

Before my wife got Blue Cross as part of her compensation as a teacher, I paid the family premiums as an individual subscriber. It was up around $18,000 for our family... and that was three years ago (I think). I can't imagine what it would be now.

7:25 PM  
Blogger Elaine said...

ah, this is where I am very grateful for our British NHS. With all its faults at least it is (mostly) free.

4:16 AM  
Blogger Clif Martin said...

Where did you get that old sheet music? I wonder if anyone else immediately hummed a few bars of "Rose Colored Glasses." Great song.

6:58 AM  
Blogger may said...

i'm in too :)

1:21 AM  
Blogger Kentucky Rain said...

I was just informed that my insurance deductibles will increase along with the co-pay, effective August 1. This is all I need. I think I used to be firmly entrenched in Middle Class America and then George Bush and the Neo-Nuts came along. Now I don't know where I belong in the cultural hierarchy.

2:47 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It just kills me when we get those annual salary increases - whoopee! Now I can cover my upped health insurance rates, parking fees, wage taxes, and real estate taxes. It's what I call the BIG WINK.

7:52 PM  
Blogger poody said...

Well hopefully you will at least get a new pair of rose colored glasses! I had no idea someone had written a book about my lifestyle! I put the shabby in shabbychic!

10:45 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

If you can "live poor with style" - just think how much more style you could live in with wealth!!

(Thanks for your feedback MJ)

Max
xx

3:33 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

America doesn't round up sick people and murder them as the Nazis did. We just deny them healthcare and let nature take its course.

9:01 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home